The last test flight of Starship of SpaceXpiloted by the illustrious entrepreneur Elon Muskfired in drama by ending with an explosion above the Florida. The incident, which occurred the Thursday March 6upset air traffic and relaunch the debate on the rest of the tests of this mega-fusée. Fortunately, despite the spectacular side of the explosion, no assessment of victims has been established.
A flight that turns bad above Florida
Thursday evening, the starship took off from Texas with a view to reaching space. With its 123 meters From height, this mega-fusée is designed for missions to the Moon and Mars. But when he went up to 140 km d’altitudea technical problem led the engines on the second floor to go out one after the other while he was heading for the Indian Ocean. The explosion that followed projected fiery debris above Florida, and spectacular images were filmed near Cap Canaveral.
This new incident occurs about two months after a similar explosion above the Caribbean, highlighting the technical challenges that SpaceX must take up in its tests to push the limits of the space trip.
Disturbances that are felt in the sky
The benefits of this explosion were not confined to immediate airspace. Important airports, such as those of Miami et Orlandohave had many delays. Takeoffs have been suspended in several airports on the east coast of the United States, directly affecting more than 240 vols. In addition, around thirty planes had to modify their trajectory to bypass the suspended debris.
This kind of disturbance shows how much the new space technologies tests can throw a big kick in the air traffic management system.
The FAA is found under the fire of criticism
The incident sparked an immediate reaction from the American aviation agency (FAA), which opened an investigation to determine precisely what caused the explosion. In addition, questions were raised on a possible conflict of interest between Elon Musk and the FAA, especially since some SpaceX engineers were recruited by the agency.
Elon Musk did not hesitate to openly criticize the slowness of the FAA administration, recalling that, despite a previous failure, the agency had still validated this launch. These remarks come when the FAA faces budgetary restrictions and dismissals imposed by the government.
Reactions and the continuation of operations
Despite this thunderous reverse, Elon Musk keeps morale and remains convinced of the future of the starship. He said that “the next flight will take place in a few weeks”, showing his desire to continue his ambitious space projects. For its part, NASA continues to trust SpaceX by planning to use starship for a lunar landing in the coming years.
SpaceX is not content to target the moon – Mars is also on the list.
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